A Place In The World
by TheFirstFangirl
Summary: Nico just needed somebody to talk to, but he hadn't expected to find himself confiding in Annabeth Chase. NicoxAnnabeth friendship. One-shot. Post-TLO.


**Summary: Nico just needed somebody to talk to, but he hadn't expected to find himself confiding in Annabeth Chase. NicoxAnnabeth friendship. One-shot. Post-TLO.**

**A/N: I'd always wanted Nico and Annabeth to end up friends, so I wrote this. Yay ^.^ This takes place after Percy disappears but before Piper, Leo, and Jason arrive.**

Nico knew he didn't belong at Camp Half-Blood. In fact, he didn't feel like he belonged _anywhere_. He was always different, always the odd one out. He barely had any friends, and he would never get to see Bianca, the only person who had ever really cared about him, again.

He scowled. Shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

The only thing Nico had ever wanted was to feel like he actually had a place in the world. He thought that he'd found his place upon arriving at camp, but he understood now that he would never fit in.

He was not a hero, and he would never be good enough for anybody. He would never be good enough for Percy.

He cursed himself for thinking that, and punched the nearest solid object that he could find. He hadn't foreseen that that object would be a cabin door. He hadn't foreseen that that object would be cabin _six_'s door. He _definitely_ hadn't foreseen that that object would cause him to end up facing Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth Chase, whose eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She tried to hide it, but Nico knew that she'd been crying. He didn't mention it, though; he knew that she had a lot to cry for at that moment, with Percy's disappearance looming over the camp. He felt a strong surge of guilt right then, because it was the first time he'd ever felt important, but for all the wrong reasons.

Annabeth's voice snapped Nico out of his thoughts. "Nico? Did you need something?"

Nico didn't know what to say. If he told her why she was even talking to him in the first place, she would probably hate him. And even though adding another person to the list of people who despised him wouldn't make much of a difference, he actually didn't dislike Annabeth. He was jealous of her, sure, but he also admired her.

Annabeth was strong and intelligent and she was a _hero_. Everything that Nico never was and never would be.

He realized that he hadn't answered her question.

"Actually, yea," Nico hesitated, and then continued. "It would be nice to have somebody to talk to."

Annabeth was silent for a while. Nico contemplated making a run for it, but before he could make a decision, she spoke.

"Sure, come in." She marched into the cabin but left the door open, not looking back to see if Nico was following.

The son of Hades lingered at the door, reluctantly stepping into the Athena cabin after a few seconds.

Annabeth looked up from her place on one of the bunks and raised an eyebrow. "Well? What did you need to talk about?"

When Nico didn't respond, she spoke again. "You know you can sit down, right? I won't bite."

_You might, if you knew what—or more specifically _who_—I was thinking about_, he thought.

But, of course, he didn't voice his opinion. Instead, he sat on the edge of another bunk. "Where are your siblings?" It was a lame attempt at changing the subject, and an _especially _lame attempt at changing the subject of a conversation with a child of Athena. Even so, he would've done anything to give up the spotlight right then.

The blonde-haired demigod narrowed her eyes. "They're at the campfire. And if that's all you came here for, then I have nothing else to tell you."

It was an obvious dismissal; exactly what Nico wanted. So why did he feel like it was the exact _opposite_ of what he wanted? Why did he feel like he actually _wanted_ to talk to somebody? Why did he feel like he wanted a friend?

"Yea," he started, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "That's, uh, all I wanted to ask." He stood up. "I guess I'll just go n—"

"Wait, Nico. I'm sorry," Annabeth apologized. "It's just, there's a lot going on right now, you know? But I still shouldn't have snapped at you. Was there something else that you meant to talk about?"

Nico thought it over. It wouldn't be so bad to talk to someone, would it? He would just leave out a few parts.

"Everything, I guess," he said slowly.

"Okay," Annabeth replied. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

He racked his brain for a good conversation starter. "Like... how did you get to camp?"

The daughter of Athena's eyes darkened. "I...left home when I was seven, and met Thalia and Luke... We made it here together."

Nico could tell that there was a lot more to Annabeth's story, but he didn't question her. After all, he wouldn't reveal every aspect of his life to anybody either.

"What about you?" Annabeth inquired. "What was your life like before you knew about Camp Half-Blood?"

"I don't really remember much," Nico said, shrugging. "All I know is that I was stuck in the Lotus Hotel for about seventy years, then attended Westover Hall until I was brought here."

"The Lotus Hotel and Casino," Annabeth mused. "I remember that place. Not a good experience."

Nico had decided that he wasn't going to mention Bianca. He was glad that Annabeth respected that, and didn't mention her either. He was also surprised. He hadn't known that Annabeth had visited the Lotus Hotel. "You've been there?"

"Yes," she responded, a faraway look in her eyes. "I was there on my first quest with Grover and Percy..."

The Ghost King could already feel the atmosphere getting awkward; or was that just him? He desperately combed through his mind for something else to talk about. If they kept on the subject of Poseidon's son, things would not turn out well.

Thankfully, Annabeth thought so too (although it was definitely for a different reason—she looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any second).

She blinked a few times before saying quietly, "It's getting late and the campfire's almost over. My siblings should be back soon. You should probably be going..."

"Yea, I'll just get going now," Nico said, walking back towards the door. Before slipping out into the night, however, he turned around one last time. "Annabeth?"

"Yea?"

"Thank you. I've always felt like I was alone in the world after Bianca... but...maybe I was wrong."

Annabeth managed a small smile. "You're welcome, Nico."

Nico took that as a goodbye and shut the door of the Athena cabin.

As he melted back into the shadows, he decided that perhaps he _had_ been wrong. Perhaps he wasn't as alone as he'd thought.


End file.
